West Students Given Plenty Of Room To Learn

April 09, 1986

Above the door, large, decorative letters say you are entering the high school`s Rotary Reading Room.

That doesn`t mean that you are entering a moldy, musty library where you will be continually shushed by a stern librarian. There is a constant hum of muted voices as students in groups of three of four huddle around tables or on couches to ponder an upcoming history test or a teacher takes a student through a difficult algebra problem.

A cantilevered staircase leads up to the library of Maine West High School. Two glass walls look out onto the lawns and shrubbery. The atmosphere is informal, but serious learning is most students` objective there.

Stacy Chase, Stacey Walter and Heidi Groff, all 16-year-old juniors, are studying for a U.S. history test on the early 1900s. ``We come in here every day after lunch,`` Chase said. ``You can study better here than in a classroom at a desk. We can talk and help each other.``

Students also can seek academic help in the reading room. Teachers are available there for tutoring during school and on Saturday morning.

The idea of a place where Maine West students could study informally and receive tutoring was the brainchild of Principal James Coburn, 51, who has used the room to implement some of his educational philosophies, such as alternatives to disciplinary suspension and having academic help readily available to prevent students from falling behind in a class.

The reading room and its functions have evolved in phases.

``I had observed that kids tend to use a library for research and not for enjoyment,`` said Coburn, Maine West principal since 1972. ``Back in 1977, we had this barren room that was used for a study hall. I had the architectural drawing and home design classes do a model of how the room could be. Then I took the kids and the model to the Des Plaines Rotary Club.``

Coburn, club president at the time, solicited the organization for funds. He concedes that his presidency may have given his request a little extra clout.

The club was receptive to the tune of a $10,000 gift to redecorate and furnish the room, opened in October, 1978.

Coburn assigned a faculty member to be available in the room for tutoring each class period and a school staff member to supervise. The daily reading room schedule is posted in each classroom.

Then Coburn asked each Rotary member to volunteer one hour twice a year to consult with students on his profession. Students in any grade are allowed to leave class or study hall to consult the member about his profession and to visit his place of business the next day.

In 1982, the reading room was expanded to a place where students could come on Saturday instead of being suspended from school for violating rules.

``I have always disliked the idea of suspension,`` Coburn said. ``I believe that students must keep learning while they are changing their behavior patterns.``

Providing a Saturday alternative to suspension didn`t accomplish what Coburn had in mind, however.

``I found the kids either sleeping or listening to their Walkmans,`` he said. ``So I rolled in four microcomputers. Then the kids threw down their radios and woke up.``

Access to the computers made such a hit that some students began coming on Saturday morning to use the computers even when they weren`t assigned to detention, Coburn said.

Coburn, whose academic field is English, began helping students who were having trouble with English classes.

``So many students were coming that I couldn`t do both (help with computers and English),`` he said. ``So I went to the Computer Programming Club and asked for assistance. I had four student volunteers every Saturday morning.``

When students began asking for help in math and science as well as English, Coburn sought faculty volunteers. Six teachers in English, science and math volunteered for Saturday morning tutoring. The tutor roster has 10 teachers.

Coburn then appealed to the superintendent and was granted funds to pay the teachers. A teacher receives $20 an hour for tutoring three hours on Saturday morning. Tutoring is free to students.

Two teachers of different subjects usually are available each Saturday. A calendar showing what subjects will be tutored is made up a month in advance and sent to parents.

Students may receive tutoring on their own initiative or on the recommendation of a teacher, who writes a voucher detailing the student`s troubles.